| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: Opinion on Bass Players | |
| grsbmd -- 07/09/2005, 07:20:31 -- #16311 | |
| The bass (upright) player that I usually play with is the kind who plays the strings mostly with his fingers and lays back in terms of volume and intensity. But recently, I just played with a different bass player, who is the complete opposite: plays every note with his whole arm, and makes sure he's heard. Now that I've seen the light, I really prefer a more aggresive bass player. But I'd like to hear your opinions on which you prefer. | |
| Dr. Whack -- 07/09/2005, 07:57:23 -- #16312 | |
| It seems to me that the person who can play with less intensity, would have room for a more dynamic range. I like the ones who listen to me, and play with me in a callaborative role much better than the ones who just sort of bull doze their way through the tunes with a constant intensity...In the case of the latter, I become more of an accompanist than a soloist...Not that one is better than the other, I just like space... | |
| Scot -- 07/09/2005, 09:54:43 -- #16323 | |
| Depends on the music, really. If you're doing a nice hard Oscar Peterson or Monty Alexander style swing set, then I want a thumping Ray Brown kind of bassist who moves it along and keeps a very good pulse. But if I'm going to play more esoteric, more "Bill Evansesque", I'll hire a bassist who is more, uh, dainty in his playing and doesn't do the thumping. In a perfect world, though, find a bass player who can do it all. Most of the time I hire those kinds of players because I like to explore all different styles of music when I'm playing a gig. | |
| peterh -- 07/11/2005, 02:32:58 -- #16371 | |
| The real problem is finding a bass player and then keeping them or getting them to turn up to practice! They seem to be very rare. What we have done is found a great guitarist who is willing to play bass. The guitar and piano seem to clash too much. I play synth bass for some guitar only numbers. He's really keen now and has bought a bass. So now we can "educate" him and get him to fit in well. So we can get loud and soft. Note that the bassist drives the band and has a lot of power, this comes out especially in the more loose modal jam sessions. | |
| Scot -- 07/11/2005, 09:15:34 -- #16380 | |
| Ah, the thing to do is hire bass players who don't need to rehearse. One of my things is to hire guys that are so good that I'm always the weak link in the band. | |
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